C'est la vie
by princess-oro
Summary: At 18, Hyuuga Hinata had everything: grades, looks, boyfriend. 9 years later, she has a happy life as a single mother. Then, Uchiha Sasuke returns. Would he destroy the happiness that she had fought so hard to have? AU/ Sasuhina
1. Tears

I've always wanted to write a story of Hinata and Sasuke having a kid and then, I've always wanted to write a story of our favourite couple being divorced. So hey, why not combine the two? :DDDD I have so many ideas for this fic and for once, I'm gonna try writing a non one-shot fic. I still dunno as to how many chapters this fic will have but around 10 or more?

I decided to change the last part because I wasn't too happy with it. Then as Miss Hydrangea pointed out, I had overlooked the fact that Sasuke and Sakura were getting it on in the Art Room where Sasuke and Hinata had arranged to meet there. Don't worry, Sakura will still appear in this fic :)

I hope you'll enjoy this story :)

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Boo hoo.

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Hinata felt something furry rubbing itself on her face. Opening her eyes blearily, she saw Tomi's tail, her fat ginger-coloured cat, flicking her nose.

She heard a giggle and she narrowed her eyes when she saw Shinji holding Tomi, urging the cat to swish his tail onto her face. She glared at him and gave him the 'You-better-get-Tomi-off-me-before-I-ground-you" look which resulted in her son to promptly remove Tomi from her face and gave a her quick kiss on the cheek with a soft mumble of apology.

She smiled gently when she saw Shinji struggling to carry the obese Tomi out her room. Shinji was her eight-year-old son. Well, nearly anyway. His birthday was in another 2 months yet he still prided himself in already being a year older. He was smug and he had that slightly haughty air around him which Hinata had exasperatedly tried to get rid of. With looks like his, anyone would feel superior. He had pale eyes, the trademark of a Hyuuga, and her heart brimmed with pride each time she looked into those eyes which resembled hers so much. Shinji was destined to be a heartbreaker, just like him. Even at such a young age, Shinji had a fan club, compromising of both eight-year-old girls and their mothers. Shinji was practically a carbon copy of _him_. With the messy black hair to that arrogant smirk, he was a miniature version of his father. Uchiha Sasuke.

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_Briing!_

_When the school bell rang, the Advanced Chemistry senior class ended and the hoard of students rushed out of the classroom, their excitement practically tangible due to this being the second last day of school. They were all looking forward to tomorrow's graduation ceremony whereby they could finally kiss goodbye to high school._

_Hyuuga Hinata squeezed in between the crowd, trying to get to her boyfriend. After she successfully managed to wriggle free of the mass of people, she clutched his elbow and greeted him cheerfully._

_"Sasuke! Why are you in such a hurry? I had been calling you ever since just now!"_

_Uchiha Sasuke fiddled with his uniform tie, trying to loosen it. Sasuke was a third-year senior in Konoha Academy. Unfortunately for his devoted fan club, he already had a girlfriend, Hyuuga Hinata, the heiress to the Hyuuga business empire and one of the most popular girls in school. Despite her shy and meek exterior, she was a multi-achiever. She was a straight-As student loved by all teachers and she had been offered an early scholarship from Yale. She was a trained ballerina and pianist, having performed in concerts. She was president of the Debate Society whereby she had always received the Top Speaker Award and she was also the president of the Drama Society, garnering the lead roles in her school's widely-acknowledged plays and musicals. She was the Vice-President of the Student Council whereby many felt that she deserved to be the president instead of Nara Shikamaru, the genius who always slept on the job. Many students loved her for she was kind and generous and she was really beautiful with her fair alabaster skin and her pale, iridescent eyes and that long, soft, dark hair which was like a waterfall, softly cascading down her back._

_Hence despite the initial jealousy among Sasuke's fans, they accepted it and they even approved of them being together. After all, she was a perfect match for Uchiha Sasuke, the second son of the Uchiha conglomerate business, Captain of the Basketball team, annual MVP, straight-As student and a talented member of the accomplished Art Club. The two had been together for 3 years already and people rarely saw one without the other. They were that inseparable._

_Hinata laughed and helped Sasuke loosened his tie. "Here, let me do it for you. Are you okay? You seemed rather fidgety."_

_Sasuke combed his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. Um, well, I need to talk to you about something. Can we meet after school?"_

_Hinata nodded. "Okay, I need to tell you something too! So after school today at the Art Room?" she suggested, knowing that Sasuke liked to spend his time before his basketball practices in the room, painting and drawing. _

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"Ne, okaa-san, are you fetching me today?" piped Shinji through a mouthful of walnut pancake.

Hinata frowned. "Don't talk with your mouth full, sweetie."

Shinji hastily wiped his mouth and gulped down his food. He looked at her expectantly. "Well?"

Hinata sighed apologetically. "Sorry, Shin-chan. I've got a meeting with Auntie Temari today. Auntie Ino will pick you up after school today, okay?"

Shinji groaned. "Man! Auntie Ino's always late!"

Hinata just laughed. She stood up and carried the dishes to the dishwasher. "Come on, Shinji. Let's go. You don't wanna be late for school, do you?"

With another groan, he hopped off the chair and grabbed his bag.

Hinata smiled at his antics. She always fetched Shinji from school but today, she had to discuss some matters with her editor and her good friend, Sabaku Temari. Hinata was a writer of the best-selling children's series, The Shinobi Chronicles, a fictional story of ninjas defending their hometown against enemies. It had actually started out as a hobby. She used to create her own bedtime stories for Shinji and from there, her love of writing for children grew. So two years ago, her first book was published.

Her sister's fiancé had introduced her to his sister, Temari, the oldest child of the Sabaku family which had created the massive publishing house, Sabaku Sands. Temari was the chief editor there and when she had read Hinata's draft, she was impressed and immediately offered her a contract with the company.

Since then, Hinata had published four books and was now working on her fifth. Her books had sold surprisingly well and newspaper critics had lavished her with praises, even dubbing her as the "Japanese J.K. Rowling", to which she had weakly laughed it off.

************************************************

Uchiha Sasuke was annoyed. Especially at his so-called best friend, Uzumaki Naruto, the blonde dobe who just couldn't and wouldn't stop talking. Naruto was seated beside him in the first-class cabin of an airplane. It was bad enough that the flight from New York to Tokyo was so long, now he had to put up with a hyperactive Naruto and annoying giggling stewardesses.

Why oh why couldn't he have flown on his private plane? Oh that's right, because his ass of a brother had borrowed it (without his permission, dammit!) to go on holiday with his boyfriend.

Uchiha Itachi, was a famous (gay) designer and embarrassingly, Sasuke's older brother. Despite the fact that Itachi loved to tease his younger brother and Sasuke being gullible enough to fall for his tricks hence resulting in fights and arguments, they were very close and their relationship was brought closer together after the death of the parents four years ago. Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto were killed in a car accident and Sasuke who had freshly graduated from Harvard, had to take over the reins as the President of Uchiha Corporations. Itachi, being the older one, was supposed to inherit the business but he rejected it and the job was entrusted to Sasuke.

"I can't wait till we get to Tokyo! The first thing I'm gonna do is eat ramen at Ichiraku! Wanna come along, Sasuke?"

Sasuke merely ignored him and closed his eyes.

"Mou, don't ignore me, teme! Aren't you excited that we're finally going back to Tokyo! I can't wait to see the rest! We'll get to see Sakura-chan and Kiba and Shikamaru and Chouji and Ino and Shino and Hinat-," Naruto stopped. He turned to Sasuke. "Aren't you excited to be seeing Hinata-chan? You haven't contacted her for so long!"

Sasuke opened his eyes. Shit. How could he have forgotten about _her_?

The last time he saw her was _that_ day. He could not forget her tearful eyes of hurt and anger.

Hinata, please forgive me.

************************************************

"_Hey, Hinata!"_

"_Good afternoon, Hinata-sama!"_

"_Yo, Hinata!"_

_As Hinata walked through the hallway, her peers and juniors greeted her and she greeted them back just as cheerfully. She was so excited to meet Sasuke! She was nervous, yes, as she didn't know how he would cope with the news. But she was very sure that he would support her, no matter what! After all, they had countless times, talked about their future together and Sasuke had always wanted five children. So now, they had gotten a headstart and they would only be left with four babies to procreate! _

_She was four weeks pregnant and she had it checked at a clinic (not owned by the Hyuuga family). She was ecstatic but at the same time, she was worried. She had not yet told anyone and she was most scared of Otou-sama's reaction. She wasn't too worried of Sasuke's parents as they loved her and doted on her as they would on their own children. _

_She walked to the Arts Room, her steps light and gaily. She tried to picture Sasuke's reaction. She opened the door to the Arts Room as quietly as possible, hoping to surprise him. _

_He was so absorbed in his artwork that he didn't notice her presence. With his brows furrowed in concentration, the strokes of his paintbrush told a story of love. She smiled. He had painted a portrait of her, with her eyes shining so brightly as a supernova, her dark tresses playing gaily with the wind. In her hands was a bouquet of her favourite flowers, lilies. Her soft white dress accompanied the pleasantness of the green meadow around her. Her bare feet were tickled by the lush grass underneath her._

_She remembered that day well. She was on a date with him to celebrate their third anniversary together. Sasuke had brought her to a field which she knew belonged solely to the Uchiha family. He had named it the Hortus Lilium, the Latin term for Garden of Lilies, not only because lilies grew in wild abundance there but also to commemorate Hinata's love for them. To many, lilies were a symbolism of Hinata; purity and innocence. _

"_Hi," she murmured, her lips curved into a gentle smile. "You're painting me again?" He had painted her countless portraits of her but this she felt was the most precious one. The bliss of the moment was apparent in the drawing, yet there was a tinge of melancholy in it._

_He turned. "Oh hey." _

_His smile didn't quite reach his eyes and Hinata frowned. "Are you okay?"_

_Sasuke blew out a heavy breath. "Yea- no wait, I'm not. I need to talk to you. Why don't you take a seat first?"_

_She sat on a stool and waited for him to continue. The lack of affection and the blatant distance in his words worried her. What was going on?_

_Sasuke put down his paintbrushes and turned towards her. He tried to grin at her but failed miserably. "Well, you wanted to tell me something, right? Go on first."_

_Hinata laid a soft touch on his knee. "Sasuke, what's wrong?"_

_He averted her gaze. "Nothing! Yo-you wanted to tell me something. So what is it?" Desperation lacing his words._

"_Sasuke."_

"_I don't how to say this but…Shit." He finally looked at her. "Hinata, I think we should break up."_

_His unexpected and painful words slapped her. She stilled. Her breath was caught in her throat. When she forced it down, she stuttered, "W-what are you talking about?"_

"_I'm sorry, Hinata. I really am. But I don't think we can continue our relationship. I mean, after tomorrow, we're no longer high school students. We'll be going our separate ways; I'm off to Harvard and you're off to Yale. We'll be meeting new people. I don't want to tie you down and frankly speaking, I don't want to be tied down either. We have our whole lives ahead of us so think of the possibilities. The opportunities. You understand what I'm saying, don't you?" He brushed his hand through his hair, a frown marring his face._

_She wanted to shout no that she didn't. She didn't understand why he was doing this. Didn't he love her? He did. She knew he did! Hadn't he made love to her? Hadn't he promised her that he would love her forever? Why was he saying all these? Why was he hurting her?_

_Sasuke gave a sigh of relief. "I knew you would understand me. I knew that we would still be friends after this. In fact, I wanted to give you this-," he gestured to the nearly completed portrait of her._

"_Why?"_

_Sasuke paused. He looked at Hinata who was now quivering, her shoulders shaking with uncontrolled sobs. Tears forced down her cheeks, anguish etched clearly in her face. His own throat burned with choked tears when he saw her like that._

_Her soft voice now torn with pain and anger, "W-why are you doing this to me? How could you? W-were all those times we spent together l-lies? A-answer me!"_

_His own heart grieved. "It's for the best, Hinata. I'm sorry." His hand rose to cup her face but she knocked it away._

"_Shut up! Who are you to decide what's best and what's not for me?" She lashed out at him. _

_He closed his eyes to stop his own tears. He tried to ignore the pain in her voice. _

_She whimpered. "I love you, Sasuke. I really do." With that, she ran out of the room, not taking the portrait that he had drawn of her._

_When he could finally force his eyelids open, she was gone. He didn't realised that that would be the last time he would ever see her. _

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**okaa-san**: Mother

**otou-sama**: Father

**gomenasai**: Sorry

**J.K Rowling**: author of Harry Potter, one of the BEST books ever

Yep, The Shinobi Chronicles is like a parody of Naruto the series. Okay, there's a lot of flashback but since it's the beginning of the story, it's really important for you to see what happened in the past.

I can't help making Sakura the bad person because I've always had this love-hate relationship with her.

I love Shinji! I think he is just sooo adorable. There'll be more of him in the next chapter.

And yes, Itachi is GAYYYYY. I didn't want him to murder his parents in here because come on, if that really happens in the real world, do you think they would just let him roam around freely? Give him some love, man. So he's gay AND a designer! Haha, you'll find out who his partner is in the later chapters. Want me to give you a clue? He's not Kisame. Gross.

And yep, Hanabi's fiancé is Gaara. Isn't that such a cute (yet weird) couple! More about them in the later chapters too. In this story, I'll probably be concentrating on the secondary characters too so stick around :D

Well then, I hope you liked it and reviews are MUCH appreciated! 


	2. Ichiraku

To all the reviewers, thanks ever so much! :)

The title 'C'est la vie' is a French term for "That's life" and it's usually used to say that life is harsh but one must accept it. It's apt for this fic because the characters here, especially our main ones, have all experienced problems and hurdles but yet they continue to persevere on.

I've **edited the last part of Chapter One**. I wasn't very happy with it so I changed it. Do read it as it's important. Thank you :)

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. I'm still trying to get over that fact.

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"Hey Hinata," smiled Temari warmly as Hinata walked into Temari's plush office which was filled with dark and sombre colours. Hinata's cheery yellow Diane Von Furstenburg sundress seemed out of place in Temari's office.

"So, how's the manuscript going? I like the first four chapters."

"Well, I'm glad you liked it. But," groaned Hinata, "I'm having a writer's block! I just don't know how to develop the story."

Temari laughed. "Relax, Hinata. Don't worry, it'll come naturally to you. It always does. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I want to invite you to this charity ball that my dad is hosting."

"Hmm? What ball?"

Temari shrugged. "It's just this function to support a charity foundation. I doubt it's really about that, though. You know how it is with all these high society functions. It's all about sipping champagne, eating caviar and bitching."

Hinata laughed weakly. "Um, Temari, you know how I am with all this stuff and..."

"Don't worry, Hinata. Your dad was invited but apparently he's now in Dubai so he can't turn up. Neji is probably going in his place. Didn't he tell you?"

"Neji-nii-san is in London now. I talked to him yesterday over the phone. He didn't mention about this. He sounded really tired."

Temari pulled out a packet of cigarettes. Ignoring Hinata's frown, she lit it and took a long puff from it. "Well, I'm not surprised if Neji's tired. Being a vice-president of the company at such a young age. How old is he by the way?"

"He's the same age as you, Temari! 28. You two are only one year older than me."

"Oh yeah. So, how's things between him and Tenten?"

"Well, same old stuff. I told Neji-nii-san that he better does something before someone snatches Tenten away. But he didn't even hear me! He was too engrossed in The Business Times! Can you believe that?"

Temari couldn't help but laugh at Hinata's indignant face. "With his dry personality and his apparent lack of interest in the opposite gender, I'm not very surprised."

"That's not true. Neji-nii-san is very interested in Tenten!"

Temari smirked. "Oh yeah? Then when was the last time they had sex?"

Hinata blushed. "Mou! How...how am I supposed to know that?"

"Well, let me tell you when _that_ was-"

Hinata clapped her hands over her ears. "Temari, stop it!"

"When was the last time you did _it_, anyway?"

"Ah!" Hinata buried her face in her hands, the tips of her ears a fiery red.

Temari let out a huge laugh. Oh Hinata, how she loved that girl. She treated Hinata as her own sister. She loved Hanabi too, that little spitfire. Such a perfect match for her beloved younger brother. Well, she wouldn't lose her head and say that she loved Neji too. She respected him. She admired how he was able to look after his two younger cousins and at the same time, run a transnational corporation.

All that guy needed was to loosen up and not looked so constipated.

Finally, Hinata muttered, "Can we get back to the topic, please?"

"Okay, okay." Temari took out a gold-embossed invitation card and held it out to Hinata.

Hinata was still reluctant to accept the invitation. She remembered the last time she went to one of those functions.

Some of the guests had recognised her as the disgraced ex-Hyuuga heiress. To make matters worse, the press also recognised her and had relentlessly hounded her for interviews. Thank god for Neji who had stared down the reporters and Hanabi who gave a tongue-lashing at anyone who had dared insult her sister.

Temari continued cajoling her. "Come on, Hinata. I promise you that this time, there won't be any pesky reporters. And if anyone is to speak bad about you, I will personally kick their fucking asses out."

Hinata smiled. "Thanks, Temari. Oh, Hanabi wants me to tell you that she can't make it for dinner today with you."

"Oh really?" Temari sighed disappointedly. "She must be really busy with her internship."

"Yeah, she is. She's been calling me every single day just to groan about that," laughed Hinata. "But she still loves it. No matter how crappy her day is, she'll always tell me about her upcoming designs and you can just hear her joy," beamed Hinata.

Hanabi was in her final year at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design doing a course in fashion design. For three years, she went to the college in London and Hinata had missed her very much. Although Hanabi still came to visit her during her holidays, it was still lonely without her and so Hinata was ecstatic when she found out that Hanabi would be doing her internship at Issey Miyake fashion house in Japan.

"She's really sorry about it. She said she'll make it up to you another day."

Temari shrugged. "It's okay. I'll call her tomorrow. That girl has been working herself too hard."

"Well, at least she's keeping herself preoccupied. Did you know while she was in boarding school in US, she created so much trouble until she was nearly expelled?" said Hinata ruefully, shaking her head.

Temari laughed. "Let me guess. She played pranks on teachers, skipped classes, caused a false fire alarm, the works."

Hinata nodded. "Yep, and she blackmailed her homeroom teacher who was caught making out with the vice-principal."

"Get out! Man, I am so proud of that girl!" grinned Temari.

"Hey, don't you be giving her ideas," warned Hinata with a slight smile. "I don't want her to be reverting to her old self."

"Nah, I don't think she's stupid enough to throw away her internship just like that," replied Temari as she took another long puff of her cigarette. "Tell me more, was she like that in high school too?"

Hinata smiled. "Thank kami, she mellowed down in high school. She came back to Tokyo for high school. She finally got serious and started studying. She knew that she wanted to pursue fashion design in college and I told her that if she wanted to go to a good college, she'd better work hard to get the scholarships."

"Aww, you're a role model. Didn't Hanabi go to Konoha Academy, your alma mater?"

Hinata looked away and replied softly, "Yes."

Temari had forgotten that she was broaching a sensitive topic. She knew about Hinata's past; Hinata had once told her while in a state of drunken stupor. So Temari decided to change the subject. "Since Hanabi cancelled out on me, I might as well go out on a date."

Hinata looked back at her. "Is it another guy?"

"Yep. Dumped the last one because he was so clingy. I think I'll bring him to your pub."

Hinata owned a pub, Lily, which was very popular and you had to wait for weeks on the waiting list before you could be admitted. Unless, of course, you had connections.

When Hinata was younger, she had worked at a pub alongside holding other jobs to support Shinji and herself. The owner of that pub, Tatsuya-san, mentored her. He was old, 73 years of age, yet he was still springy and able to run the pub. Hinata loved him, although he was cranky and sarcastic because he was like a father to her. He taught her the ropes of running the bar and when he passed away, he gave her the pub. She renovated it and gave it a whole new concept.

"Try Rose Love. It's a new drink," suggested Hinata.

"Is it good?"

"Well, of course it does!" said Hinata, sounding indignant.

Temari laughed. "Okay, okay. Don't you have to fetch Shinji from school?"

"No. Ino's picking him up from school."

"Right." Disdain was palpable in her voice.

Hinata sighed inwardly. Temari and Ino had never gotten along. That was perhaps due to the fact that Temari had once gone out with Shikamaru, the man whom Ino was having an on-and-off relationship with since young. Shikamaru was Hinata's good friend, having once worked with him during high school. She knew he was lazy but she really wished that he would just do something instead of doing nothing and dating both of them.

Well, she couldn't really blame him either, considering that her own best friend was a blonde female Casanova who couldn't stop flirting with men. It was made worse by her jealous streak and so she hadn't liked it when she found out that Shikamaru and Temari were still on very good terms.

Shikamaru worked for his father's law firm and Sabaku Sands was one of their clients, hence Temari and Shikamaru would sometimes go out for lunch together. This further upset Ino and so it was unsurprising to see that Temari and her could not get along.

"So how about having lunch with me?" Hinata asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Temari looked up. "Sure, but shouldn't you be with Shinji?"

"Oh, it's okay. Ino's with him. What could possibly go wrong?"

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Shinji scowled. Auntie Ino was late again.

He hated it whenever Okaa-san was busy and Auntie Ino had to pick him up from school. Don't get him wrong. He loved his godmother very much. He really did. She would always buy him the latest and coolest toys. Sometimes, she would moan and say that Shinji should be born as a girl so that she could buy him all the pretty girly clothes but since he came out with a Y chromosome, she was stuck with buying him Ben 10 and Transformers toys. She still bought him clothes though from Guess Kids and DKNY Kids so she really shouldn't complained.

He reckoned that Auntie Ino was pretty lucky to have come from a wealthy family because if not, she wouldn't be able to afford all her designer clothes. Auntie Ino worked for her family's flower business. They had branches all over the world and the hybrid flowers that they breed always won accolades from prestigious flower competitions. They sold designer flowers which Shinji simply couldn't comprehend because '_Why are people willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for flowers?_'.

Auntie Ino also liked to nag him whenever he was eating McDonald's or junk food because she was forever on a diet, eating _bunny food_. Although he did notice that she never said no to Okaa-san's chocolate chip cookies or chocolate cake or anything with chocolate, really. But aside from that, Auntie Ino was a lot of fun and she would sometimes join him and his mother on their holidays. Auntie Hanabi and Auntie Tenten would also come along and even though he would pretend to be annoyed by all the excessive female presence, he secretly loved it because he always had a great time whenever they were around. If they were lucky, Uncle Neji –who had the busiest schedule _ever_- would join them too and Shinji wouldn't suffer the shopping trips by himself.

His stomach growled. He couldn't possibly wait for Auntie Ino any longer. She was just so darn slow! He frowned. His mother wouldn't like it if she heard him swearing. _But well, she wasn't here, was she? _

Feeling bitter, he hitched up his school bag and went to Ichiraku. He knew the owner whom he affectionally called Owner-jii-san. His mother had once worked there when he was much smaller and sometimes, she had brought him along because his babysitter was sick. That was why he knew all the shopkeepers there as they had practically seen him grew up. Even when Okaa-san changed jobs to the one at Tatsuya-jii-san's pub, it was still on the same street and so he still spent much of his childhood there.

"Shinji-chan! Why are you here alone?" greeted the owner as he walked into the cheerfully-decorated restaurant. He plopped himself on a chair near the owner and ordered his favourite ramen.

"Auntie Ino's late. I'm hungry," came the simple reply.

"Ah, right," nodded the owner, understanding completely. Ino was famous for her punctuality. Or lack thereof. "Does Ino and your mother know you're here?"

"Yep," lied Shinji, still angry at Okaa-san for leaving Auntie Ino to pick him up (Why couldn't Auntie Tenten fetch him? She sure had a _better_ sense of time.) and angry at Auntie Ino for well, being late.

As the owner put down a steaming bowl of ramen in front of him, he broke apart his chopsticks and with a soft "Itadakimasu", he ate his lunch. He didn't notice the group of boys dressed in black leather and menacing scowls, coming into the shop.

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"Itadakimasu!" grinned Naruto before tucking into his ramen with gusto.

"Just shut up and eat," scowled Sasuke, clearly unhappy to be forced to accompany his best friend to eat at Ichiraku. He was tired and he just wanted to go home and sleep. But _no_, the minute they landed in the airport, Naruto had to drag him here.

He grabbed his chopstick and started to reluctantly eat. He realised that he missed the food here. The pathetic excuse they labelled as 'Japanese cuisine' in US simply couldn't be compared to the authentic food here.

"Hey Sasuke, guess what?" exclaimed Naruto in between mouthfuls of food.

"You realised that your existence is worthless and so you decided to jump off the Tokyo Tower?" God, was Naruto a pig in disguise or what? He wiped off the spit and food chunks (courtesy of Naruto) from his tailored suit. "Stop spitting at me, you idiot."

Naruto tried to look outraged while choking but failed miserably. Sasuke, taking pity on him, patted him on his back. With _much_ more force than required.

"Dammit, teme! Don't hit me so hard!" He took a gulp of water and glared at Sasuke. "And NO, I'm not commiting suicide, you asshole! I'm not spitting at you either!"

Sasuke scowled at him, disgusted by the fresh barrage of spit on his face. "Thank you Naruto for that delightful shower on my face."

Naruto blinked. "Hur? Oh okay, you're welcome."

Sasuke felt like strangling him with the fucking ramen. But he decided to be civil and said, "You wouldn't recognise sarcasm even if it jumped naked in front of you and sang Silent Night."

Naruto blinked again. "Hur?"

Sasuke sighed. "See? That is my point precisely."

Naruto still looked confused and so Sasuke said, "Never mind. You were saying?"

Naruto smiled exuberantly. "Guess what? I'm going out on a date with Sakura tomorrow!"

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "Really? You mean she didn't punch you or scream the daylights out of you when you asked her out?"

Naruto looked insulted. "Of course she didn't. She never did that to me."

Sasuke merely kept quiet, not reminding him of the last time he asked her out and Sakura had screamed obscenities in his ear and Sasuke, being kind, plugged out the line so as to save him further embarrassment in the office. Sasuke also didn't remind him due to that incident, he was now labelled "The Man with the Foxy Boxer" by colleagues and employees.

Naruto continued. "Oh, by the way, tomorrow's lunch is at the Shang-Ri-La Hotel. Be there at 12."

Sasuke stared at him. "What?"

"Sakura called me just now to invite us to lunch tomorrow."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, muttering, "Only your deluded self would call tomorrow a date." To Naruto, he replied "Sure, I'll be there."

"Kya!!!" Crash.

There was a loud scream and the sound of plates breaking. Sasuke and Naruto turned around in their seats and they saw the teenage gang, harassing the owner's daughter. Just when they were about to help her, a young dark-haired boy approached them.

***********************************************************

Shinji had finished his food and was quietly sipping jasmine tea when he heard a scream. He turned around and saw a bunch of men dressed in black, surrounding Yumi, the shopkeeper's owner.

Apparently, one of them had tried to ask her out and when she politely refused them, he turned violent. He gripped her hand and had demanded for compensation for spilling black coffee onto him.

Shinji hated men like that who took advantage of others. Purposely causing trouble and then demanded money. Morons. He stood up and walked towards them, his temper rising.

"Let go of her, idiots."

They spun around to see a young boy with his hair oddly stuck up in the back but nevertheless, very handsome with fair skin and opalescent eyes that currently looked very annoyed.

"Fuck off kid," growled one of them, a skinny-looking teenager with pimples as big as Uncle Chouji's butt.

None of them actually looked very menacing. They were all probably high school kids, the oldest 18 and the youngest possibly 16. Looking at their looks and physiques, Shinji reckoned that none of them was in the popular crowd. With pasty faces (though some had fake tans) and scrawny builds with buck-toothed mouths, surely they weren't the objects of desire of high school girls.

Hence, they probably decided to stand out by posing as a bad-assed motorcycle gang. Shinji looked out of the window and his assumptions were correct. The bunch of them were just big fakes. There were no Harley Davidsons but instead motorcycles and scooters which had seen better days. There were even bicycles. God.

"Why don't you just let her go so that nobody will get hurt?"

The boys laughed, exposing their yellowed and stained teeth, which had resulted from excessive smoking and well, not brushing their teeth. "Oh man, did you just hear what this shrimp said?"

"Listen up, kid. Why don't you just go home so that _you_ won't get hurt," snarled the leader. Shinji stared disbelievingly at him. He was wearing a heavy-looking skull necklace and really really shiny rings (Did he polish them nightly or what?) and way too much eyeliner. _Ewwwww_.

When Shinji continued to stare at him, he became agitated and with a war-like cry, pounced on him. The next thing he knew, he was flying across the room. He lay in an unconscious heap against the wall, blood trickling at the corner of his mouth.

The other guys gaped. Did their leader just have his ass kicked by that kid?

They all jumped into action, kicking and punching away. The other customers looked on in amazement as the handsome small boy neatly dodged their attacks and delivered his own well-aimed punches and kicks, knocking them out cold.

When one of them brandished a pocket-knife dangerously, Shinji calmly took a fork from the counter and threw it at his hand, piercing it.

***********************************************************

Sasuke and Naruto stood at the sides, impressed by the prowess of the dark-haired boy. Although small in stature, he managed to defeat boys who were twice his age and size.

Sasuke frowned. The kid's fighting style was _disturbingly_ familiar. He tried to recall it but he simply couldn't remember.

Naruto whistled. "That kid is good."

They watched as the gang heaved themselves of the floor and left the restaurant, but not before threatening the boy. The boy merely looked coolly at them and fisted his hands. The teenagers gulped and left immediately except for one.

The raven-haired boy held onto the other boy's shirt and had a heated discussion with him, holding out his hand. The older boy grudgingly handed over a few wallets to him.

The owner cried out, ""Shinji! Are you okay?" He and most of the customers crowded around the small boy, concern and worry in their eyes.

The boy replied in a pleasant voice, "I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. Higurashi-san, here's your purse. Ren took it just now. You really should look after your belongings more carefully," he reprimanded her lightly.

"Oh, thank you, Shinji-chan!" exclaimed a heavy-looking woman with curly red hair. "Did you know those boys?"

"No. I only recognised Ren. He's from my school-- Konoha Academy. Freshman in the high school sector. He's usually quiet. Didn't know he joined an outside gang," he shrugged. After assuring the others he was fine and no, he wasn't injured at all, he returned the other wallets that Ren had pickpocketed.

He went up to Sasuke and handed his black leather wallet to him.

Naruto burst out laughing. "Man, that snot-nosed kid stole your wallet and you didn't even notice it?"

Shinji turned to Naruto and passed him his obnoxious-looking leather wallet with a frog motif. "He stole yours too."

Sasuke smirked at Naruto. "You were saying?" To Shinji, he murmured thanks.

Before Shinji could reply, a blonde hurricane swept into the shop.

A loud familiar noise rang. "Shinji! Are you here?"

Shinji turned. "Auntie Ino?"

*******************************************************************

Ino was desperate. She had been searching for Shinji for the past one hour.

Okay, fine, it was her fault in the first place for being late. Shinji hadn't inherited his mother's patience and her being late for two hours hadn't helped at all.

She had searched everywhere. She went to the park near his school because she knew that was his favourite place. He would play with Akamaru and Kiba there, or go cloud-watching with Shika, or search for bugs with Shino, or simply have ice-cream with Hinata there.

Her heart wrenched. _Shit, Hinata will kill me if I lose her son. Again._

When she couldn't find him in the park, she made the next logical step. She searched all the food stalls he frequented because hey, he was a boy. And boys get hungry. Okay, maybe that was just Chouji.

Nevertheless, she searched for him in restaurants and yes, there he was in Ichiraku.

She ran up to him and bent down to hug him. "Omigod! Thank goodness I found you! I was worried sick when you weren't at your school gates!"

Shinji looked at her accusingly. "You were late."

Ino blew out her breath. "Okay, okay, it's all my fault. I know I promised the last time that I wouldn't be late again. I'm sorry." She looked at him. "Don't ever do this again, you hear me? Do you know how worried your mother will be?"

Shinji looked at her. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have worried you." He patted her hand. "Don't look so sad, Auntie Ino. I'm fine, aren't I? " He smiled cheekily at her. "I won't tell Okaa-san you were late _and_ you lost me if you won't tell her I went here by myself."

Ino laughed. "You brat!" She ruffled his hair and pinched his cheek. "Okay, fine. Truce." She held out her pinky and laughed again when Shinji hooked his pinky with hers.

Suddenly, she heard someone calling her.

"Ino?"

She looked up and her heart flew into her throat when she saw Uzumaki Naruto. _And Uchiha Sasuke._

Naruto grinned when he saw her. "Ino? Is that really you? Man, its been years since we last saw each other! Do you know this kid?"

Ino gulped nervously. "Hey Naruto. Sasuke. Erm...yeah, I'm babysitting him. For…for a friend." She stood up and grabbed Shinji's hand. In comparison to her godson's warm hand, hers was cold and clammy. "Ah...We have to go now! I-I'll see you guys around. Bye!" She ran off, her high heels smacking against the floor.

She pushed Shinji into her red BMW convertible and slid herself into the driver seat. She sped off, her heart beating rapidly.

_Oh, Hinata. He's back._

****************************************************

Sasuke and Naruto stared at Ino and Shinji as they rushed out of the shop and into a sleek red car. The sound of burning rubber pierced the afternoon air as Ino sped off.

Naruto sat back down and continued eating it. "Well, that was weird."

Sasuke sat down too but instead sipped his coffee. "Hn."

"First time ever I saw Ino at a loss of words. She didn't even gush over you. Hell, she barely even noticed you!"

"Hmm."

"You know…," Naruto swallowed his food. "That kid kinda looks like you, Sasuke."

Sasuke was startled. _What?_

"Wonder whose kid that was?"

**********************************************************

**Tokyo Towers**: major tourist site in Shiba Park, Minato, Tokyo. Tallest tower in Japan and the 20th tallest tower in the world. It is actually a communications tower, supporting an antenna that broadcasts television and radio signals. Resembles the Eiffel Tower.

**Harley Davidson**: a famous American brand of motorcycles. I am _so_ gonna ride this one day :)

**Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design**: one of the world's leading art and design institution

**Konoha Academy**: completely fictional. It's a school with an escalator system whereby the kids from elementary directly graduates to the middle school and then to the high school.

This chapter is longer than the previous one. Hope this makes up for the delay in the update :)

Reviews are VERY welcome!


	3. Realize

Once again, THANKS EVER SO MUCH TO ALL THE REVIEWERS! Hearts and hugs, y'all :D

This chapter is kinda drabble-y. Oh well.

Disclaimer: Naruto. Not mine.

* * *

Shinji sat at the kitchen table, eating Coco Crunch for breakfast while watching his mother bustled around in the kitchen. He contemplated telling her about his eventful trip to Ichiraku but he had already promised Auntie Ino that he wouldn't. He rarely lied to her --except for those times like when they were at the ski resort in Canada and he had went on the Death Trail with Auntie Hanabi-- and he hated lying to her because hurting his mother was the last thing he would ever do.

Speaking of Auntie Ino, she was extremely weird yesterday. She was silent throughout the ride home which was very rare because usually, she would talk non-stop, asking him about his day and what he had for lunch and what he did during Math and how many love confessions he received from girls --and sometimes, guys. He noticed that she was very tense too, the way her shoulders hunched up and the way her hands clenched the steering wheel.

She had been that way ever since she met those two guys in Ichiraku. What were their names again? Nabobo? No. Naturo? Ah, Naruto. He was good-looking with his golden hair and those bright blue eyes. And then there was the other angsty-looking guy. What was his name again? Sa...Sasugay? No, that sounded a little wrong. Sasube? No. Sasuke? Right. The handsome one with the tousled dark hair and the even darker eyes. Whereas his friend seemed like your friendly boy-next-door, he was more of your grumpy boy-next-door.

Hinata turned to him, wiping her wet hands on her "I'm a yummy mummy" apron. "So how was your day with Auntie Ino yesterday?"

He opened his mouth, trying to construct an answer which did not require him to lie to her but at the same time, not putting himself or Auntie Ino in trouble. "Well--"

There was a loud revving noise.

They turned to look at the driveway. Hinata's mouth gaped open, "Is that--"

Her little sister got out of the car and smoothed her pink-and-grey Pucci dress. Her BCBG wedges tapped impatiently as she beckoned to her sister and nephew to check out her new ride.

With a long-suffering sigh, Hinata went out to her much-loved albeit absolutely insane sister.

"Hanabi, I do not deserve to be shocked so early in the morning," said Hinata wryly.

She stared at Hanabi's car, no...metallic monstrosity, which was painted in a neon shade of purple. The colour was so bright that she had to squint to look at it --no wonder Hanabi was wearing sunglasses. To fashionistas, it was probably a fashionable colour but to Hinata, it was just something to blind others with. And worst of all, there was a bold HH insignia on its bumper.

"This is so Sharpay Evans," said Hinata as she gestured to Hanabi's signature logo.

"Sharpay Evans?" Hanabi said confusedly.

"That blonde chick from High School Musical," replied a voice behind them. They turned and saw Shinji standing there, looking smart in his navy-blue and red Konoha Academy uniform. He was biting into his apple, a grin flashing across his face.

"And you know this because?" Hanabi turned to her sister.

Hinata avoided Hanabi's ggaze. "Ah...well, Shinji's a big fan of HSM--"

"Don't lie, Okaa-san," said Shinji, pretending to be stern. "Okaa-san's the one who goes nuts over it," he said to Hanabi.

Hanabi laughed. "So, you're the one who bought him all those HSM stationeries. Not Ino-nee-chan, right?" She taunted her sister, recalling a past incident.

"She even tried to make me wear underwear with Zac Efron's face on it," added Shinji disgustedly.

"Omigod, what is wrong with you?" laughed Hanabi. "And Ino-nee-chan!"

"You might wanna add Auntie Tenten too," said Shinji helpfully.

Hanabi laughed even louder while Hinata tried to ignore them both.

"Laugh at me, why don't you? I've seen your car now. Now get lost," said Hinata grumpily.

Hanabi linked her arm through Hinata's. "Oh, come on, don't be angry, Onee-chan! Don't you just love my new Ferrari baby? Had it specially painted!"

"Why couldn't you actually paint it in a less ostentatious colour?" muttered Hinata.

Hanabi ignored her. "Actually, I came back here to tell you that Neji-nii-san is coming back today."

"Really? When is his flight?" Hinata perked up at the idea of meeting her older cousin again. She missed him.

"In an hour. I'm on my way to the airport to pick him up. Wanna come along?"

"I'd love to but I've got to send Shinji to school. How about you go first and then I'll just meet you at the airport?"

Hanabi shook her head. "No, no. We can send Shinji on the way to the airport. How about that?"

Hinata smiled. "Sure."

"What would be a better idea is that if you just skip the trip to school. No need to waste time and fuel. Efficient, isn't it?" piped up Shinji, trying to look innocent.

Hinata merely looked at him. "Nice try, young man."

Shinji groaned. "Oh, come on, 'kaa-san!" He pleaded. "At least let me cut school for one day! I have a perfect attendance. I've been good throughout the year. I deserve a day off, don't I? Besides, I really, _really_ wanna see Uncle Neji! Please, Okaa-san?" He begged with his soulful eyes watering.

"No. Cut the water works. I'm not falling for that. _Again," _Hinata said sharply. "Since you already have a perfect attendance, all the more you shouldn't cut class today." She softened her tone, "Besides, I don't think Uncle Neji would be pleased to find out that you missed school because of him. You can see him after school, 'kay?"

Shinji looked down at the ground. "Fine," he muttered grudgingly.

Hinata smiled and bent down to hug him. "I'll make you your favourite blueberry pie," she whispered to him.

His eyes lit up. "With vanilla ice cream and whipped cream and Hershey's chocolate sauce?"

"Okay," she promised him.

"Onee-chan! Go get ready!" complained Hanabi. To Shinji, she whispered, "Sorry, Shin-chan. I'll try to persuade her later to let you cut class."

"No, you won't!" Hinata called out, her back to them as she walked towards the house to change.

When Hinata finally came back down, dressed in a pair of black Miu Miu jeans and a dark blue Zac Posen blouse, she saw her sister leaning against the car, eating a banana. "Where's Shinji?"

Hanabi pointed inside. He was doing Math exercises. "What is wrong with your son? I asked him whether that was homework to be handed in later and he replied that he was doing it for fun! _For fun! _Can you believe that?"

Hinata shrugged. "What's wrong with that?"

Hanabi shook her head sadly. "I'd forgotten that I was talking to a straight-As student."

"Oh please, as if you weren't a straight-As student either," said Hinata scornfully.

"Ah, correction. I was a straight-As student who was _forced_ to do her homework. You, on the other hand, my dear sister, was a straight-As student who _actually enjoyed _doing it," said Hanabi. As an afterthought, she added, "Freak."

Hinata ignored her. She looked at Hanabi's neon purple Ferrari and sighed, "Purple used to be my favourite colour until I saw this."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get into the car." Hanabi threw the banana peel onto the ground.

"I saw that. Pick it up."

"Sheesh."

* * *

Sasuke sat back in his chair, watching Naruto flirt with Sakura. Well, _trying_ to anyway.

Sasuke cut into his veal. He asked Sakura, "So how is it, picking at people's brains?"

Haruno Sakura was a neurosurgeon and one of the top in her field. She was renowned throughout the world and even had her own private practice. If back then, she had been pretty, now she was even more gorgeous. Her emerald eyes sparkled seductively. Her lips shone, with the Stila gloss that she favoured. Her roseate hair ran down the length of her back, smooth and silky. Her figure was accentuated with a well-cut Givenchy skirt and French Connection top. She was heightened by tan Christian Loubotin stilettos.

The three of them were close, always being placed in the same group ever since junior high. They had even went into the same college; Harvard, although Sasuke and Naruto studied business whereas Sakura took up medicine. Sakura and Naruto were the few high school friends he had bothered to keep in touch with. Well, Naruto was now a vice-president at Uchiha Group hence, he didn't really had a choice and had to put up with him. Despite the grousing, Naruto was his best friend, the one who had been there for him throughout his life.

Sakura swallowed her grilled lemon cod. "Pretty good. This guy here," she nudged Naruto, "should book an appointment with me. So I can fix his brain."

Sasuke laughed whereas Naruto looked embarrassed. "Oh, that's mean, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and sipped her wine. "So how is it, now that you two are back in Japan?"

"Awesome!" Naruto gushed. "Man, I miss it here! You know what? I was thinking that maybe we could have a high school reunion for the nine of us! Ya' know, the old gang?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "What?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke surprised. "What's wrong with that? Don't you wanna see the rest?"

Sasuke sighed inwardly. If he were to say no, then he would have to tell Naruto his reason; not wanting to see Hinata. _Damn_. "Fine. Do whatever you want."

Naruto grinned broadly. "So, what have the rest of them been up to?"

Sakura continued sipping her wine, not looking at him. "I haven't been in touch with any of them."

Naruto was shocked. "Not even Hinata or Ino?" The three of them were the best of friends back then.

Sakura's hand clenched the wine glass even tighter. "…Yes."

Naruto didn't notice her discomfort and ploughed on carelessly. "Why?"

Sakura slammed her glass down. "It's none of your business, okay?" she said sharply.

Sasuke and Naruto were startled. Naruto replied hesitantly, "Um…okay. I'm sorry."

Sakura sighed. "It's fine."

Naruto decided to change the subject. He said, "Oh by the way, guess what we saw yesterday, Sakura-chan! We saw this one kid who looks exactly like teme here!"

Sakura stopped. Her spine stiffened and her hand once again clutched the wine glass. "W-What do you mean, Naruto?" Her voice shook.

Naruto continued. "Well, we were in Ichiraku yesterday and then there was this teenage gang and they were causing trouble and so this kid came up to them and totally trounced them! He was really cute, I guess. With his black hair and that standoffish attitude, he was like a mini Sasuke! The only different thing about them was that he had the palest eyes. Kinda freaky but…pretty."

"P-pale eyes, you said?" Sakura asked, her hands shaking.

"Yep."

"Sakura, is something wrong?" Sasuke said, his eyes bored into Sakura's.

Sakura looked up. "N-no! Nothing's wrong. I-I'm just really tired. I have been busy these past few days."

Naruto teased her, "You're working too hard, Sakura-chan! You know what you should do to relax? Go out on a date with me."

Sakura's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Haha, very funny, Naruto."

As Naruto and Sakura continued conversing, Sasuke ate his food quietly. _She's hiding something._

* * *

Ino absent-mindedly did the flower arrangement. Usually at noon, she would be out eating at her favourite deli, flirting with the boys who worked there. But currently, her mind was in a daze. She kept thinking about yesterday and how she still hadn't told Hinata.

"I didn't know that dear old Furumiya-san gives black-and-hot-pink flowers to her deceased husband," a voice rang out.

Startled, Ino looked up, cutting her finger on the roses' thorns. "Shit!"

Before she could do anything, Shikamaru swung his long legs over the counter, grabbed her hand and sucked her injured finger. "Dammit, woman! You're so troublesome," he mumbled.

Ino bit back a moan as Shikamaru continued sucking her finger. God, the things this boy could do with his tongue. "What do you want, Shika?" she managed to say, her voice a little more breathy than she wanted to.

Shikamaru moved closer to her, his mouth leaving her finger. Ino closed her eyes, anticipating a kiss from him...and instead received a quick peck on the lips.

She opened her eyes, annoyed.

Shikamaru smirked. "Well, I want to take you out for lunch. Why? Were you expecting something _else_?"

She turned back to her finger cut, ignoring him. She wanted him to kiss her, dammit!

She grabbed a first aid kit from under the counter and opened it. Shikamaru sighed and grabbed her finger again, putting antiseptic cream on the cut. He peeled off a plaster --and stared at it. "Barbie?" he asked, somewhat revolted by the pink plaster.

"Gimme that!" Ino muttered, grabbing the plaster and placing it herself.

She then turned to him. "I don't want to have lunch with you. Now get lost. I've got work to do."

"What's the use of having work to do is you aren't able to concentrate on it?" He pointed to the gothic black-and-pink bouquet.

She sighed.

"What's wrong, Ino?" he asked softly, concerned. He took her hand and rubbed it reassuringly.

"It's...nothing."

"Ino."

"I'm scared," she blurted out. "I found out something...and I should probably tell her --that person," she corrected, "because it concerns her. But I don't want to upset that person because sh-- the person is very important to me. Now, I just don't know what to do."

Shikamaru pulled her close and placed his chin on top of her head.

"Wouldn't she be more hurt if she were to find out that her best friend hid something very important from her?"

Ino gave a slight smile. Shikamaru had probably guessed what had happened and who she was talking about. She turned and kissed him fully on the lips.

"Thank you," she whispered. She broke away from him and grabbed his hand. "Now are you still going to buy me lunch?"

* * *

Hanabi had gone to fetch Shinji from school and so Hinata was left with Neji.

"Here, Neji-nii-san," she murmured as she poured him a cup of tea.

"Thank you."

"So, how was your business trip?" asked Hinata.

"Tiring." Indeed, her cousin looked very worn-out. There were eyebags beneath his eyes. His face weary and his shoulders slumped.

"Ah, poor 'nii-san," she said, hugging him around his waist. Oh, how she missed him. He was like an older brother to her and Hanabi. Ever since her mother had passed away and her own father began to distance himself away from her, Neji was the one who took care of her. Perhaps, it was also because Hizashi, Neji's father, had died and so Neji could relate closely to Hinata. He was the one who took care of her when she was sick; making her chicken ginseng soup. He comforted her and wiped away her tears whenever her father scolded her. He came to support her at all her dance and piano recitals, debate competitions, plays and musicals since Otou-san never bothered to turn up.

Neji smiled, patting her head. "How are you, by the way?"

Hinata leaned in closer and sighed. "Good. Still stuck on my draft, though."

"Hmm, really?"

"Yes. But don't worry, I still have some time. I'll just think about it later."

"Don't procrastinate, Hinata."

"Don't nag, 'nii-san."

They both frowned.

"Uncle Neji!"

Neji and Hinata turned to see Shinji running towards them, deliriously happy to see his favourite uncle back home.

Neji smiled warmly, scooping him up into his arms. "Hey, kiddo."

"I've missed you, Uncle Neji!" he said, his face buried into Neji's shoulder.

"I've missed you too," said Neji softly as he hugged Shinji.

Hanabi sank onto the sofa, next to her sister. "Shinji was so eager to see Neji-nii-san that he wanted me to speed."

Hinata looked at her sharply. "Did you?"

"Of course not!" replied Hanabi a little too innocently.

"Liar," muttered Hinata.

"Look at them," grinned Hanabi, not having heard her sister. "They're so cute, aren't they?" she cooed.

Hinata looked at them; Neji giving Shinji presents from overseas and both of them smiling and laughing together. "Yep, they sure are."

"You okay, sis? You're not gonna cry on me or something, right?"

"No. I'm just really, really happy."

* * *

Sasuke sat in his office, a migraine building up in his head as he looked at the staggering amount of paperwork to be reviewed. _Damn._

He was sipping his lukewarm coffee when he heard a knock on his door. The man who came in was Nobukawa, the director of marketing. He was a jovial man with a booming voice, albeit very skinny and very bald. Although Sasuke found him a tad annoying --he couldn't stop talking, much like that blonde dobe-- he was still a likeable person.

After Nobokawa handed over his report, he started talking about his day; what he had for lunch, how a bird nearly pooped on his head and a call from his wife reminding him to buy potatoes on the way back home.

Sasuke forced a smile on his face and he reminded himself that Nobokawa was just really a nice person with a well-exercised mouth and that he was very capable at his job hence Sasuke really, _really_ shouldn't fire him although he was very tempted to.

Nobukawa suddenly stopped talking and looked at his watch. With an apologetic smile, he said, "Ah, sorry, Uchiha-san. I don't wish to be rude and cut our conversation short --"

_Oh please do_, thought Sasuke savagely.

"-- but I've got to fetch my daughter from school. Usually, her au pair would fetch her but today's Friday and it's our special father-daughter bonding time!"

Sasuke's heart sank when he realized that Nobukawa would _never _stop talking.

"I bet you think that girls only go boy-crazy when they hit puberty but oh gosh, you should see my daughter!"

_If she's anything like you, then no thank you_, thought Sasuke despairingly.

"She's only eight and already she's crushing on her classmate! Thank god she's got pretty good taste since her latest crush is Shinji. Really good-looking kid, I tell you--"

Sasuke stopped. _Wait, that name was familiar..._

"Is your daughter in Konoha Academy?" Sasuke asked, interrupting Nobokawa. He remembered that black-haired kid's navy-blue and red uniform. There was just something he couldn't quite place on that Shinji boy.

Nobokawa looked at him in surprise. "Why, yes! It's the best school there is! Say, weren't you from there, Uchiha-san?"

Without waiting for Sasuke to reply, he continued, "My daughter loves it there! But," he sighed, "I'm really worried. She keeps doodling hearts on her homework, scribbling Shinji's name. Her teacher says not to worry because all the other girls have the same symptoms. He's a nice kid, though. Really well-mannered. And handsome to boot! Even my wife goes gaga over him!"

Sasuke asked, his interest piqued, "Does the Shinji you're talking about, have dark hair and pale eyes?"

Nobukawa nodded his head vigorously. His skinny neck didn't seem to make a very good support. "Yes, he does! Do you know him?"

Sasuke shook his head, "No, I just happened to meet him yesterday."

"Well, no wonder you remembered him, sir! Very charismatic boy, isn't he? Met him several times before, he was with his mother. Very nice lady! Most of the mothers there like her because she is such a sweetie! Some of the fathers too," he giggled. "Not me, of course! Well, Hinata-san is really gorgeous, can't exactly blame the men--"

Sasuke's heart clenched. "Hinata?"

Nobukawa nodded again. "Yes, Hyuuga Hinata. She's Shinji's mother. Hyuuga Shinji."

The weird feeling in Sasuke's chest gnawed deeper. "Shinji's father is a Hyuuga?"

"Actually, no. Shinji's surname came from Hinata. The boy doesn't have a father. I don't think Hinata married him. Well, that's one of the many secrets of the disgraced Hyuuga heiress," Nobukawa lamented.

"What?"

Nobukawa looked at him. "Ah, you were overseas back then. You didn't hear about it. It caused quite a commotion back then. It happened... what, 9 years ago? Hyuuga Hiashi disowned her for a certain reason which was never made known to the public. After Shinji's birth, they began to speculate that maybe the reason was that she became pregnant with him and had shamed her family. Poor girl," he shook his head softly.

"What...what happened to her now?" asked Sasuke, his face now pale.

Nobukawa didn't notice the change in his boss's demeanour. "She's very successful now. Author of a bestselling children's series. She won many awards for that. I heard even Hollywood is interested in adapting the book into a movie. She also owns a nightclub. Very popular! The waiting list is endless! All the famous people go there! I've been there a few times. They serve great drinks!" He stopped and finally noticed the time. "Ah, I really have to go now! It's been nice talking to you, Uchiha-san! Have a good day!"

After Nobukawa finally left, Sasuke slumped in his seat. _Hinata. Shinji. That pale eyes. That black hair. Hinata was disowned 9 years ago. Shinji's now 8 years old._

_"That kid kinda looks like you, Sasuke."_

Sasuke straightened suddenly. Cold sweat ran down his back. _Fuck. That's my son._

* * *

Am I evil or am I evil? Haha, yep, Sasuke finally deduces that Shinji's his son! YES YES YES, FINALLY! Lol, I bet some of you were thinking that, aren't you?

Included a bit of ShikaIno! I just love them two! Too bad, Sasuhina hasn't happened yet. Wahahaha!!! Don't worry, it will happen. Just…later.

Neji finally makes his appearance! In the whole of the Naruto universe, he has the most enviable hair! Omg, what the heck does he _use_ to have hair that shiny?!


	4. Truth

Chapter 4! I am so happy reading all your reviews! Reviews put a smile on my face :) I love it when readers tell me which parts they like or which parts they don't. So thank you ever so much!

**Warning: Lots of swearings**. Does anyone think I should raise the ratings to M?

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

* * *

Ino sang to herself as she worked, her brows knitting in concentration as she artfully prepared flower arrangements. After her talk yesterday with Shikamaru, she felt much relieved. All she had to do now was talk to Hinata and inform her about how she had seen Sasuke.

What was that bastard doing back here, anyway? She frowned. Whatever it was, he was not welcomed here and would never be.

She cut the flowers viciously. How dare that jerk come back?!

_After four years abroad at college, Ino came back, expecting to see her friends and reminiscing about the good old times. She had imagined them laughing together and joking around, all of them happy to have finally graduated. She envisioned Naruto and Kiba arguing as usual, over the tiniest matter. Shino would be shaking his head and trying to placate Kiba. Or just sit in one dark corner to search for spiders or any of those icky buggers. Shikamaru would sip beer while muttering "How troublesome." Lee would be prancing about, annoying everyone else. The girls; Hinata, Tenten, Sakura and herself, would be gossiping away. Or Tenten would be trying to talk to Neji while the stoic genius would reply in his monotonous voice. Hinata and Sasuke would cuddle together, and everyone would be treated to Sasuke's rare smiles. Sakura and she would be having one of their usual screaming bitch-fests, although both were secretly pleased to see each other._

_She came back and saw none of those. What she did see was Hinata, disowned and living in a ratty old apartment. What shocked her most was the 3-year-old boy standing at Hinata's side. With raven hair that stuck up stubbornly at the back and opalescent Hyuuga eyes, Ino knew immediately whose child that was. Hinata stood limply in the doorway, her face pale and sallow. Her hair, now reaching her waist, no longer had that healthy shine to it. Hinata had always been slim, with a gorgeous figure. But now, she was anorexically thin, her joints poking out, as though painfully. Her eyes, which were always so full of joy and life, were now dead and empty._

_When she saw Ino, she fell ungracefully to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. She was like a fallen angel, abandoned by God. On the dirty floor, she lay in an undignified heap, with tears creating rivulets on her sunken cheeks. _

_Ino stared, not knowing what to do. Oh Kami, what had happened? She felt like vomiting. This was not Hinata. No, it can't be. _

_But yet it was. _

_The boy knelt on the floor, next to Hinata. With his small fingers, he lovingly wiped the tears away. He stroked her hair gently, whispering to his mother, "Okaa-san, please don't cry. Shinji's here. I will always be here for you." His voice was oh my lord-- beautiful. The soft angelic voice-- a sound made by an ethereal being. It tugged at her heartstrings; another angel caring for its fallen. He continued stroking Hinata's matted hair, his hands deftly yet softly, working out the kinks in her hair. He repeated his words as his mother cried into his lap. _

_Looking at the touching scene in front of her, Ino broke down and cried too, her arms wrapped tightly around Hinata's. She could feel each tremor reverberating through Hinata's body, each quake that accompanied her cries. Hinata's stunning voice which had many times, resonated through an auditorium during musicals, was now breaking-- shattering into an ugly parody of it. _

_She felt another pair of arms enclosing them. She turned and saw Shinji who looked at her with those gentle eyes and Ino breathed out a gasp. All that sincerity and love pouring out of those pastel orbs, blew her away. He smiled at her, as though telling her that everything would be all right. _

_"You must be Auntie Ino. Okaa-san has told me so much about you. Please don't cry. Shinji will protect you too." _

Ino clenched her fists. Whenever she was reminded of that, her heart ripped open, once again. The torrent of anger, spilled in plunging breakers at her feet, attempting to pull her in. But love-- love for Shinji and Hinata had always subsided her fury.

She closed her eyes, willing herself to control her anger. She took deep breaths and when peace had finally settled over her, she opened her eyes.

And saw Uchiha Sasuke standing in front of her.

_No._

_

* * *

_

Sasuke woke up that day with a splitting headache. He hadn't slept well. Hell, he didn't even sleep. All he could think about was...Hinata. And Shinji.

What if he hadn't broken up with Hinata? Would they be leading a happy life together, raising a family? What if Shinji hadn't been born? Would he continue leading his current lifestyle? What if he were to just ignore them? Ignore the fact that he had a child? Ignore the responsibilities that came with it?

All those 'what ifs?' drove him crazy. In his mind, images of...his son came flashing back. It was fucking plain weird thinking that he _had_ a son. When he had met Shinji in Ichiraku, god-- he didn't even care who that kid was! Now, he was forced to think about him. What was his favourite colour? Does he like tomatoes too, like Sasuke? Does he have a sweet tooth like Hinata or does he find sugary treats repulsive, like Sasuke? What was his childhood like? Did he grow up hating his father for not being there for him?

Sasuke's stomach rolled over, nausea churning in it. His tongue was dry. He didn't remember drinking anything besides that bottle of whisky. The bottles of whisky. He remembered chugging down the drinks-- forcing it into his mouth, the whisky burning his throat as it rushed down into his empty stomach. He welcomed the pain and the bitter taste of it. It drowned out reality.

_"How many children would you like to have, Sasuke?" Hinata asked, looking up at him as her head lay comfortably in his lap._

_They were on the school roof, relaxing and enjoying the breeze before Sasuke had to go off for basketball practice and Hinata to her student council meeting. _

_"I dunno," replied Sasuke nonchalantly. "Maybe four? Why, you wanna get an early start to it?" he winked suggestively._

_Hinata laughed, a melodious tinkling sound being carried by the wind. "Very funny, Sasuke." She looked thoughtful for a moment, her lips pursed and her brows knitting in concentration. "If it's a girl, I wanna name her...Haruka!"_

_Sasuke smiled. God, how he loved her. "And if it's a boy?"_

_"Shinji."_

Sasuke laughed, a crazy angry sound thundering in his room. Hur. Ironic wasn't it?

He ran his hair through his hair angrily, stiff spikes giving him a dangerous and demonic look. There were shadows beneath his eyes, making his onyx eyes even blacker. He hadn't shaved yet, his chin now bristled.

He knocked the contents of his table, colognes crashing onto the floor, papers flying haphazardly in his bedroom. He was furious. Furious with himself for not knowing what to do. Furious with Hinata for making him fall in love with her then. Furious with Shinji for...existing.

"Dammit!"

He had to get out of his blasted house. He had to do something!

He had to fix this bloody mess.

* * *

"S-sasuke! Sasuke-kun! W-what are you doing here?" Ino asked, her heart palpitating. _What the the hell was he doing here?!_

"Ino. I need to talk to you."

His voice had never changed. It was still the same smooth, baritone voice which had melted many hearts. Except that now, it was richer. More masculine.

"W-well, I would love to, Sasuke-kun. But right now, I'm very busy! I don't think I can," she lied to him, perspiration dotting her temples.

"Ino. I need to talk to you. Come with me. Now." There was that tone of authority which was infamous in high school. No one ever questioned Uchiha Sasuke. Not even the teachers.

Ino tried to calm down and think of another way to decline him. She couldn't go have lunch with him! Who knew what he wanted to talk about?

She looked at him again and her eyes widened. Despite looking cool and handsome in a charcoal black suit which made his eyes seemed much more intense, she saw that he looked...weary. Worried. Angry. Confused.

Just when she was about to open her mouth and say no, he spoke. "Ino, I know."

Her hands shook and she stuffed it into her the pockets of her apron to still it. "W-what are you talking about? Know what?"

Sasuke stared at her, his black eyes pinning her. Suffocating her. "I know that Shinji is my son."

_What?_

He continued, "And you are going to tell me what the fuck is going on."

* * *

Sasuke drove his black Volvo while Ino sat beside him. He could feel the air hostility and frustration from her.

She had originally refused. She had claimed she didn't know what he was talking about.

But he knew she lied because he could see it. The swirls of the secrets in her eyes.

She had then threatened him.

And he threatened her back. _"Well, if you don't wish to tell me. I'll have to go directly to her, then. But I don't think Hinata knows I came back to Japan. It'll be a shock to her, don't you think?"_

The look that she gave him was of pure outrage and disgust. He had hit her where it hurt the most. Her desire to protect Hinata and Shinji.

Grabbing her coat and purse, she then rushed out with him, leaving her shop to her assistants.

When they had arrived at his penthouse, he walked to the lift, Ino trailing behind him. He gave a nod to the security guard, who bowed politely to them. They rode up the lift in silence. He opened the door and saw his two best friends, seating at the dining room.

"What is this bitch doing here?" Ino snarled when she saw Sakura who looked shocked.

Sakura turned to Sasuke, her eyes full of confusion and fear. "W-what's going on, Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto chimed in, looking confused too, "Yeah. What the hell is going on here, teme?"

Sasuke had called Naruto, asking him to come over to his over and to bring Sakura along. He needed to tell Naruto the news and he knew that Sakura knew something about Hinata and Shinji.

He had enough of secrets.

He gestured impatiently at a chair, beckoning Ino to sit down. Tottering in a menacing pair of Prada pumps, she looked down at Sakura with such deep loathing. With a growl, she grabbed the chair and plunked down on it.

She ignored Naruto and Sakura, merely staring at Sasuke, her blue eyes wintry and cold. "I don't need to tell you anything, Sasuke. You can just ask this whore over here to tell you everything."

Naruto was stupefied. "What's wrong with you, Ino? Why are you being so rude to Sakura? Don't talk to her like that! She didn't do anything to you!"

Ino turned to Naruto, her eyes now wild with rage. "Shut the fuck up! You don't know what the hell is going on so shut your piehole!" She breathed heavily as she stared daggers at Naruto. When Naruto looked more confused than mad, she went on, aggravated. "You really don't know what's going on?! FYI, your best friend here--"

Sasuke cut in, his words now steel. "Ino--"

Ino ignored Sasuke, plundering on, "--actually has a child!"

Silence.

Naruto looked at Ino, his mouth gaped open and his eyes wide with shock. Sakura looked at neither, merely staring at her lap, her fists clenching, her pink talons digging half-moons into her palm.

Naruto turned slowly to Sasuke. "Dude...Tell me this is a joke."

Ino snorted. "A joke?!" She went on cruelly, ignoring Sasuke's attempts to stop her. A sadistic played on her lips. "Let me tell you a joke! Well, once upon a time, there lived a happy couple. They were perfect together! Or so that was what people thought. Then one day, Princess Hinata wanted to tell Prince Sasuke that she was expecting. But before she could do that, the prince dumped her. Why? Because he was a stupid fuckhead who couldn't think on his own and instead listened to advice given by a slut of a witch named Sakura!! Now do you still think that's a fucking joke?!"

"Ino!" Sasuke's voice rang. "Stop it!"

Ino turned to him and shot, "What? Can't handle the truth?" Her eyes gleaming viciously, her blue eyes cutting into his.

Naruto cut in, looking sick, "W-who's the kid?"

Sasuke sighed. "You've...met him. It's the kid from Ichiraku."

Naruto stared at him, his eyes wide open. "You mean that black-haired kid?"

Ino snapped in an outrage, "That kid has a name! Shinji."

"But that kid's-- Shinji must be pretty old already! We saw him wearing Konoha Academy's elementary uniform!"

"He's eight! That's not old!"

Naruto slumped in his seat, "Eight?! So... this means it happened in high school?!" He sat straight up, finally figuring it out. He said to Sasuke, "You told me that Hinata and you broke up amicably!"

Ino snorted. "Amicably, my ass! He broke up with her the day before graduation!" She sighed wearily, her shoulders slumped, a sad smile now marring her face. "Hyuuga Hinata's life ended when she saw 18."

Naruto looked horrified and opened his mouth to say something but Ino continued, not noticing any of them. Her eyes were glazed and her words were laden with sadness and misery.

"The day when Sasuke broke up with her was the day that Hinata lost part of herself. She went home that day and angry and scared, she told Hiashi of her pregnancy."

She looked at Sasuke and Naruto. "Did you know why she didn't come to the graduation ceremony?"

Naruto answered, his face wary, "Hiashi told us that she went overseas."

Ino nodded, her sharp blue eyes now dull. "We all had assumed that she skipped graduation because she was sad that Sasuke and she separated. We...we believed this asshole's words," her eyes at Sasuke's direction, "when he said that he and Hinata had separated amicably."

"But you know what really happened?" Her voice now raised an octave higher. "Hinata didn't come to school because she was actually in a hospital!"

Sasuke and Naruto looked at her, flabbergasted. "When Hiashi found out about her pregnancy, he beat her up so badly that she had to be sent to the hospital. It was a miracle that the foetus survived! The bastard actually wanted her...to abort the baby."

Sasuke couldn't breathe. He felt bile rising in his throat.

Ino went on, "What? You guys shocked? I haven't even gotten to the main part." And so she continued, she spurted out all the secrets that she had been keeping. She was sick of it! She wanted them to suffer like she had, like what the rest of their friends had, when they found out about Hinata's circumstances. "Hiashi then disowned her. Tossed her out onto the streets with nothing. Nothing whatsoever! No money, no clothes, nothing!"

"Hiashi didn't even allow her to keep the Hyuuga surname. Said that she didn't deserve to have his name. But Hinata fought for it. Argued that since her mother was a Hyuuga, she was one too. Hence, the Hyuuga that was now her surname actually belonged to her mother's maiden name."

She paused.

"All of us didn't know what happened to her because we all then went to colleges abroad. Neji was already in Yale and Hanabi was in an overseas boarding school. So nobody knew about Hinata."

"Because she was pregnant and penniless, she had no choice but to give up her Yale scholarship." They knew how hard she had worked to attain that. Being admitted to Yale was one of her childhood dreams. "She gave birth alone. No one knew about it. She went through the pain alone."

Silent tears now forced down her cheeks as she recounted Hinata's past. Her heart burned, the anguish hurting her. "When Neji finally found out, he was horrified. He bought her an apartment, gave her money...but she refused."

"Well...you know how stubborn Hinata can be. She didn't want help. She was determined to succeed on her own. So she worked several jobs to support Shinji and herself." She forced out a laugh. "Can you believe it? The ex-Hyuuga heiress was reduced to cleaning toilets for a living!"

Ino waited for that to sink in. She wanted them to envision in. See her pain. Feel it. "But she did it. She inherited a pub from dear old Tatsuya-san. That was one of the shops that she had worked in. God bless him. She renovated it. Gave it a whole new concept. She made it a success. That was her big break. Then, she became an author. Now, she's rich and all her wealth came from her own sweat, blood and tears."

Naruto said, his voice soft and resigned, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry to hear that."

Silence ensued, the air thick and heavy with tension.

"But what does Sakura have to do with all of these?" he asked nervously.

A dark mask of anger clouded Ino's face, her sapphire eyes now turning cobalt in vexation. "Everything!"

Naruto tried to calm her down, "Come on, Ino…Don't be unreasonable…"

Ino snapped, "I'm not! The bitch here was the one who broke them up!"

Naruto stopped, words dying in his mouth.

"B-but that's not true! It must be a mista--"

"A mistake?! Is that what you think?! Why don't you ask her? Why don't you ask her to tell you about how she tried to manipulate Sasuke into thinking that dumping Hinata would be for the best?!"

"Ino, please!" shouted Sakura, tears glazing her emerald eyes.

Ino turned to Sakura and spat hatefully, "You thought I didn't know that you were telling Sasuke about how he was actually hindering Hinata? About how he should actually live a little and not to be tied down by commitments?! You put those ideas in his head, you bitch! I heard you! At first, I didn't think much of it because I thought it was just a mistake. I thought the reason why Hinata and Sasuke broke up was because both needed space. Then, do you remember New Year's when we were twenty? I went over to your house and we had a few drinks. Then…you being all drunk, suddenly blabbed to me about how you were _so glad that Sasuke-kun dumped Hinata. How Hinata-chan really didn't deserve him_. You told me, Sakura! You told me about what you did! You made Sasuke feel guilty for tying Hinata down!"

"It's true! Hinata didn't deserve him! She never loved him like I did!" Sakura burst out, her pretty face contorting with fury.

Sasuke stared at Sakura. His eyes were…unreadable. There were too many emotions swirling in it for them to be read. "You…you did that to me?"

"I did it for us, Sasuke-kun! We're meant to be together! But you just couldn't see that! You…you were too blinded by…her!"

"She was your best friend, Sakura! She trusted you! Fuck, I trusted you!" Sasuke screamed, slamming his hands on the mahogany table. He now stood, his eyes wild with loathing.

Sakura jerked. She wanted him to see that she was right. She needed him to. She pleaded, "Sasuke, I love you! I've always loved you! I was there for you whenever you needed me! I was there for you when your parents died! I bet…Hinata didn't even know that your parents died! I bet she wouldn't even have cared!"

Ino slapped her. "Shut up! Don't you fucking dare talk like that. You didn't know what she went through after they died! Did you know how long Shinji cried when he realised that Obaa-san and Ojii-san would never visit again?!"

Sasuke went cold. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"N-nothing," squeaked Ino, looking guilty and scared.

"Are you saying that my parents knew about this?" asked Sasuke softly, his voice deadly. His black eyes pierced hers. "Tell me the truth, Ino."

Ino closed her eyes, looking as weary as ever. "Yes."

There was a sharp intake of breath from Sakura and a look of shock from Naruto. Ino looked at Sasuke straight in the eyes, "Yes, your parents knew about this."

When nobody said anything, Ino continued, her voice pained, "Before you get mad at them, you have to understand the situation. Your parents didn't know about it at first. They found out about it right after Neji did. They were shocked and upset. They wanted Hinata and Shinji to live with them, but like I'd said, Hinata was just too stubborn. And besides, it would be very suspicious if anyone were to find out that the ex-Hyuuga heiress was living with the Uchiha family."

"Why didn't they tell me?!" demanded Sasuke angrily.

"They wanted to! They wanted to tell you so badly! But," sighed Ino, "Hinata threatened to kill herself. And Shinji."

Naruto interrupted, looking horrified, "Hinata would never do that!"

"At that time, she was in a bout of depression. She didn't eat, she didn't sleep. She was volatile. Your parents didn't want to do anything that would antagonize her. So for hers and Shinji's safety, they never told you about it."

Ino looked at Sasuke, gauging his feelings. When she saw that he still hadn't said anything, she continued, "After that, Hinata started recovering. Surrounded by Neji, Hanabi and your parents, she became more cheerful. She was almost like her old self. They helped her. They took care of Shinji while she worked. They could have easily given her money but Hinata refused. She was adamant on working to support her own family. So they came around often to look after Shinji while Hinata worked and studied. She resumed her studies after that, taking up courses."

Ino now smiled, "Shinji loved them. He loved his Obaa-san and Ojii-san. Both Auntie Mikoto and Uncle Fugaku pampered him. They brought him out on outings, taught him how to ride a bicycle, everything. They loved him so much. But when they died in the accident," her smile was now gone, "Hinata became depressed again. She couldn't do anything. That was when the rest of us came back. We found out about it and tried to help her but she was just so…dead. She locked herself in her room, refusing to talk to anyone. Once, when Neji came around, he found Shinji sleeping outside Hinata's room. Shinji hadn't eaten for days!"

"Then, one day, Hinata saw him sitting at the piano, his stubby fingers struggling to play the correct keys. Auntie Mikoto had always sat there, teaching him music. When Hinata saw that, she finally snapped out from her current state. Ever since then, she never left Shinji alone. And right now, she's happy living her life."

Naruto asked, "Does Shinji know about…Sasuke?"

Ino murmured, "He only knows that his father died when he was small. Hinata couldn't bear telling him that his father didn't even know he existed. She didn't want him to grow up, hating his own father."

Sasuke was silent. There was so much more that he wanted to ask. There was so much more that he needed to know. He was just so confused! He didn't know what to do!

"Did you throw away her letters?" Ino's voice broke the silence.

Sasuke looked at Ino who was now expecting an answer from Sakura.

"Yes," Sakura whispered, her head bowed down in shame.

Ino pushed back her chair and lunged at Sakura, her face now streaked with angry tears. "I knew it! You fucking bitch!"

Sasuke and Naruto jumped into action. Sasuke restrained Ino who was now clawing at Sakura while Naruto held Sakura, protecting her from the blonde's vicious assault. "Ino! Calm down! What the hell is going on?" snarled Sasuke, still holding onto Ino. _God, just how strong is this woman?_

"Why don't you tell him, Sakura?! Tell him!" shrieked Ino, her arms and legs kicking away.

"Hinata had sent you letters, Sasuke," whispered Sakura softly.

Sasuke let go of Ino. His heart stopped again.

"It was our first year in college. Hinata…sent you letters, telling you about her pregnancy. At first, I didn't believe it. But…she continued sending letters and she even sent her doctor's medical reports. I…threw it all away," murmured Sakura. She sobbed quietly, her shoulders quaking. Naruto released her, disgust apparent on his face.

"She called Sasuke too, didn't she?" asked Ino, her face furious.

Sakura nodded slowly, her emerald eyes savage with tears. "After the letters, she…she called his phone but Sasuke wasn't there so…I picked it up—"

"And you told her to stop calling because Sasuke was now going out with you, am I right?!"

Sakura nodded pathetically, too ashamed to look at anyone.

"You told her that Sasuke didn't give a 'flying fuck about her or the child', right?!"

"…Yes."

Before Ino could move towards that god-damned bitch, there was a flash from behind her and the next thing she knew, Sasuke had slapped Sakura.

"I hate you. Get out of my house now."

When Sakura looked at him in shock, clutching her bruised cheek, Sasuke roared, "I said get out of my house right now!"

Sakura whimpered and grabbed her bag and coat, tugging at the door and saw—

"_Hinata."_

* * *

LOL, I bet some of you are hating me right now. I hate reading cliffhangers but I love writing it!

This chapter is a lot to absorb! So do read it thoroughly so that you won't miss vital points :) Why is Hinata at Sasuke's doorstep? Well then, you'll have to read the next chapter to find out, won't you?

**Shinji**: truth

**Haruka**: spring child

LOL, I was checking the meaning of their names and I was pleasantly surprised to find out the meaning of "Shinji"! When I first chose his name, I totally didn't know that. I merely chose it because I wanted his name to start with 'S' like Sasuke's. The meaning totally ties in with the story because due to Shinji, Sasuke finally found out the truth. I chose the name "Haruka" because it's connected to Hinata. Hinata means a sunny place and so geddit? Sun and spring? Yep :)))

This chapter was a pain to write because I had to include so many things in it. I had to change the contents a couple of times. Ino was supposed to tell Sasuke the truths at a restaurant but it's kinda stupid because then they would be screaming and stuff and I don't think even McDonald's would like it if suddenly, this really handsome black-haired guy just jumped up screaming obscenities at a pink-haired woman while waving around a Big Mac :P

I hope you've enjoyed reading this chapter. I'm looking forward to your reviews! :D


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